Water rafting @ LiJiang
Shangrila Park
Banyan Tree
Moon Hill
Yulong River
On our Day 2, we woke up at about 7.30am and got ready for our trip to Yangshuo. We left Wada Hostel at about 9.30am. We took a bus to the Guilin Bus Station and after ding dong here and there we boarded a bus to Yangshuo around 10.30am. We are supposed to take an express bus which will transport us directly to Yangshuo. Unfortunately we took the wrong bus, a normal public bus which stopped at all the stations and our whole journey lasted near to 2hours. After alighting at the Yangshuo Bus Station, we boarded a mini bus to West Street. We checked in to Yangshuo International Youth Hotel and immediately booked a trip for Lijiang water rafting. We made it on time to catch the tour on the same day as it departs at 1.30pm. After settling in our luggage in the room, we hurried to the meeting point where the tour bus is already waiting for us.
The journey to Lijiang took about 40mins. The reason we took this tour is mainly because of the scenic view printed on the Chinese Yuan 20 (CNY20). 5 of us boarded a raft mended by an elderly man. He took us across the river and made a stop there where we could clearly took the photo printed on CNY20. We stopped for about half an hour, taking photo and making it into a small key chain and bought some snack. We continued with the pleasant raft ride. Emeryn took off her slippers and dipped her feet into the running raft. She obviously enjoyed this moment a lot. Before turning back to the starting point, our raft made a final stop where we took some photo there. There were many smaller set up selling souvenir and even offering a horse riding or a photo with the bird. And of course, we don't fall into all these. Emeryn requested mummy to get her a water shooter/blaster where she could play with it during our raft ride back to the starting point. The whole raft ride took about 2hours. We managed to have red bean soy custard and fried noodle while waiting for the rest of the passenger to return. We reached our hotel at about 6pm.
We then booked another tour to watch the Liu San Jie performance. After a quick refreshment, we went to West Street for dinner. We managed to walk around the nite market before assembling at the hotel for our pick up. Upon reaching the venue, we were amazed with the huge crowds. It was so crowded with at least thousands of visitors making their way into the venue. We have to hold hands while walking in order not to be separated. We have to walk quite a distance to reach our seat. The Liu San Jie performance is an outdoor show at an amphitheater that overlooks the Li
River and several mountains which are illuminated during the show. The stage is a series of floating platforms and boats on the
Li River. The performance showcases the local indigenous groups and
their colorful clothing, songs and traditions. The shows director is the
same gentleman who directed the opening ceremony for the Olympics. The performance lasted for an hour before we were dropped off at our hotel. Mummy only managed to shop at the nite market for 30mins after that as Emeryn wanted to go back to the hotel for a rest. Por Por, Ah Kong and Carmen Ee Ee continued with their shopping.
We started our Day 3 at 7.15am as we booked another half day tour to Shangrila Park. Ah Kong and Por Por woke up earlier and bought us McD for breakfast. At the Shangrila Park, we were only allowed 2 hours to visit such a beautiful place. Shangrila Park also called "Shi Wai Tao Yuan" (世外桃源) in Chinese, literally meaning "land of peach blossoms". It is a nature park build inside a lake. Upon entering, we took a boat to cross the lake and visit a cave and a forest of peach trees. We were also entertained by the folks performances there. There are two major themes presented in Shangrila Park. One is the traditional Chinese farming culture, the other is the culture of the minority groups of north Guangxi minority cultures such as Miao, Dong, Zhang and Yao. Unfortunately we did not manage to tour the whole park due to the short time given to us. That's the draw back of engaging tour group.
The tour driver dropped us back to our hotel at around 11am and we headed straight for an early lunch. After lunch, we checked out from the hotel and walked across the road where we checked into Wada Hostel Yangshuo. It was a brand new hostel, newly opened less than a month. Mummy booked a 4 bedded bed room, comes with attached bathroom. After getting ourselves refreshed, we booked a private car at the reception for a visit to The Banyan Tree and Moon Hill. Throughout our visit there, it rains everyday. But fortunately the rain doesn't last long, probably 15-30mins.
Our first destination was The Banyan Tree. It started to pour as soon as we reached our destination but we were all prepared with our raincoat. Despite the rain, it does not stop us from visiting. The banyan tree, measuring 7 meters (about 23 feet) in width and 17 meters (about 55.8 feet) in height has experienced extensive growth over the years. Although its stem is very old and its roots twist, its branches and leaves stretch out so lushly that the sunshine hardly penetrates its shadow. We also enjoyed a bbq fish while visiting the Banyan Tree.
Next, we headed to Moon Hill. Moon Hill is a huge slice of rock with a round hole in its center, and you mount 800 steps on a marble paved mountain path to reach it. At various angles it resembles from the new moon to a full moon. The rock measures 380 m (height) by 410 m (length) by 220 m (width). We did not expect this visit is meant for climbers who are keen to climb up the hill. Thus, we only made our way to the base of the hill and took marvelous photo. On our way back, the kind driver made a pit-stop somewhere near a village for us to snap more beautiful photo of the Moon Hill. He also stopped by at Yulong River and explained the history to us without any further charges. The Yulong is a shallow river and it is not located near any industrial areas. Thus, it is clean enough for swimming, though some brownish surface foam is visible in it. Yulong River offers a spectacular view to any visitors. The air is super refreshing and it calms the mind. Unlike the busy Li River, it has no motorized boat traffic and relies completely on bamboo rafts to ferry passengers downriver.
The driver then dropped us back at West Street around 5pm. We continued to tour the ever busy West Street and bought some souvenir too. After 2hours of walking, we went back to Wada Hostel. Por Por and Emeryn do not want to go out for dinner and choose to stay in. So mummy, Ah Kong and Carmen Ee Ee walked out for dinner at a restaurant highly recommended by the hostel staff. The price is cheap, a similar price paid by the local and not over-priced especially for tourist. The rain started to pour again after dinner. We went back to the hostel for an early rest that night.
We started our Day 3 at 7.15am as we booked another half day tour to Shangrila Park. Ah Kong and Por Por woke up earlier and bought us McD for breakfast. At the Shangrila Park, we were only allowed 2 hours to visit such a beautiful place. Shangrila Park also called "Shi Wai Tao Yuan" (世外桃源) in Chinese, literally meaning "land of peach blossoms". It is a nature park build inside a lake. Upon entering, we took a boat to cross the lake and visit a cave and a forest of peach trees. We were also entertained by the folks performances there. There are two major themes presented in Shangrila Park. One is the traditional Chinese farming culture, the other is the culture of the minority groups of north Guangxi minority cultures such as Miao, Dong, Zhang and Yao. Unfortunately we did not manage to tour the whole park due to the short time given to us. That's the draw back of engaging tour group.
The tour driver dropped us back to our hotel at around 11am and we headed straight for an early lunch. After lunch, we checked out from the hotel and walked across the road where we checked into Wada Hostel Yangshuo. It was a brand new hostel, newly opened less than a month. Mummy booked a 4 bedded bed room, comes with attached bathroom. After getting ourselves refreshed, we booked a private car at the reception for a visit to The Banyan Tree and Moon Hill. Throughout our visit there, it rains everyday. But fortunately the rain doesn't last long, probably 15-30mins.
Our first destination was The Banyan Tree. It started to pour as soon as we reached our destination but we were all prepared with our raincoat. Despite the rain, it does not stop us from visiting. The banyan tree, measuring 7 meters (about 23 feet) in width and 17 meters (about 55.8 feet) in height has experienced extensive growth over the years. Although its stem is very old and its roots twist, its branches and leaves stretch out so lushly that the sunshine hardly penetrates its shadow. We also enjoyed a bbq fish while visiting the Banyan Tree.
Next, we headed to Moon Hill. Moon Hill is a huge slice of rock with a round hole in its center, and you mount 800 steps on a marble paved mountain path to reach it. At various angles it resembles from the new moon to a full moon. The rock measures 380 m (height) by 410 m (length) by 220 m (width). We did not expect this visit is meant for climbers who are keen to climb up the hill. Thus, we only made our way to the base of the hill and took marvelous photo. On our way back, the kind driver made a pit-stop somewhere near a village for us to snap more beautiful photo of the Moon Hill. He also stopped by at Yulong River and explained the history to us without any further charges. The Yulong is a shallow river and it is not located near any industrial areas. Thus, it is clean enough for swimming, though some brownish surface foam is visible in it. Yulong River offers a spectacular view to any visitors. The air is super refreshing and it calms the mind. Unlike the busy Li River, it has no motorized boat traffic and relies completely on bamboo rafts to ferry passengers downriver.
The driver then dropped us back at West Street around 5pm. We continued to tour the ever busy West Street and bought some souvenir too. After 2hours of walking, we went back to Wada Hostel. Por Por and Emeryn do not want to go out for dinner and choose to stay in. So mummy, Ah Kong and Carmen Ee Ee walked out for dinner at a restaurant highly recommended by the hostel staff. The price is cheap, a similar price paid by the local and not over-priced especially for tourist. The rain started to pour again after dinner. We went back to the hostel for an early rest that night.
No comments:
Post a Comment